The present invention generally relates to ink jet printer apparatus and methods therefor and more particularly relates to an ink jet printer system for printing an image on a web overlaying a removable substrate, and method of assembling the printer system.
It is known to print colorful images on woven and unwoven textiles or fabrics such as cotton, wool, silk, synthetics, and the like prior to the fabrics being cut and sewn. Of course, the fabrics are cut and sewn to provide articles for everyday use, such as clothing, towels, upholstery and other articles.
Various printing techniques are used to produce the images that appear on the fabric. One technique is to use the well-known process of screen printing, wherein a screen serving as a stencil and having a predetermined mesh count is coated with ink of a desired color. It is the back of the screen that is coated with ink. The article to be screen printed is then placed on the front of the screen and a squeegee blade is pressed against the back of the screen to work the ink into the article. In this manner, the image is printed onto the article.
However, use of screen printing has several disadvantages. For example, screen printing is unsuitable for quickly changing images to be printed in order to keep-up with changes in consumer taste. Also, time required to set-up or construct a particular screen stencil and mix the desired ink color in order to print particular image makes screen printing not cost-effective for small quantity production runs. In other words, screen printing is not cost-effective for a large number of small production runs because of the increased frequency of screen set-ups.
Another well-known technique for printing images on fabrics is use of a plate roller having the image engraved on the plate in reverse relief In this regard, ink of a desired color is applied to the plate and the plate is then rolled against the fabric to be printed in order to form the image on the fabric. However, use of the plate roller technique is relatively expensive because the plate roller technique typically uses a rotogravure printing process, which requires fabrication of an intaglio plate prepared by photographic methods. Of course, an intaglio plate is an engraving etched deeply into a surface of a hard material, which is typically metal. Also, time required to engrave the plate in order to print a particular image makes plate roller printing not cost-effective for small quantity production runs. In other words, plate roller printing is not cost-effective for smaller production runs because each article is printed from one engraving of the plate and smaller production runs would increase frequency of engraving and production set-ups.
Therefore, the commercial fabric printing industry is shifting from screen printing and plate roller printing of fabrics to ink jet printing of fabrics. Ink jet printing of fabrics offers several advantages over screen printing and plate roller printing. That is, ink jet printing allows immediate changes in color and design of an image in order to rapidly adjust to consumer tastes. This is so because ink channels formed in the ink jet print head can be selectively enabled depending on the particular image to be printed at that moment. In other words, ink jet printing is well-suited to small production runs as well as large production runs because ink jet printing does not require time-consuming and expensive fabrication and deployment of a screen stencil or an engraved plate every time the design of the image is changed.
However, although not all ink jet printers require fabrics to be stiffened, it has been observed that fabric to be printed by an ink jet printer typically needs stiffening in order to properly feed through the printer""s feeding mechanism. This is so because the fabric is inherently quite flexible in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. This inherent flexibility of the fabric may result in misalignment of the fabric or even xe2x80x9cjammingxe2x80x9d of the fabric in the printer as the fabric feeds through the printer. Misalignment of the fabric produces images of inconsistent quality and xe2x80x9cjammingxe2x80x9d of fabric in the printer causes the printer to cease operation, at least until the xe2x80x9cjammedxe2x80x9d fabric is cleared. Therefore, a common practice in the art of ink jet printing of fabrics is to provide a substrate, such as a relatively stiff paper backing material, coupled to the fabric. This backing material may be adhered to the fabric by a suitable adhesive. The backing material is selected for its thickness and stiffness, such that the fabric with backing material has sufficient stiffness in the longitudinal and transverse directions to properly feed through the printer.
However, this solution to the previously mentioned xe2x80x9cstiffnessxe2x80x9d problem in turn gives rise to another problem in the art. That is, it is preferable to remove the relatively stiff backing material from the fabric prior to the fabric being cut and sewn. In the prior art, removal of the backing material is accomplished manually. That is, typically an attendant assigned to operate the printer manually grasps the fabric and backing material after printing and then peels the backing material from the fabric. The backing material is discarded by the attendant. Hence, time and labor are expended to remove the backing material. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid manual removal of the backing material in order to save time and labor.
Apparatus and methods for ink jet printing of textiles having a removable backing layer are known. Such an apparatus and method are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,368 titled xe2x80x9cMethod And Apparatus For Applying A Stable Printed Image Onto A Fabric Substratexe2x80x9d issued Jun. 6, 2000 in the name of Melissa D. Boyd, et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The Boyd, et al. patent discloses an ink transfer sheet including a backing layer, a detachable release layer on the backing layer, and an ink receiving layer on the release layer. According to the Boyd, et al. patent, the backing layer provides support for the other layers while the release layer is used to adhere the ink receiving layer and printed image onto a fabric substrate. The ink receiving layer is formulated to allow adhesion and/or absorption of ink materials thereon so that a defined printed image can be effectively transferred. In this regard, once the ink composition is delivered to the ink receiving layer of the transfer sheet, the transfer sheet is placed on and against the selected fabric substrate so that the ink receiving layer and the printed image are in physical contact with the substrate. Heat is applied to the transfer sheet to cause the release layer and ink receiving layer to adhere to the fabric substrate. After or during application of heat, the backing layer is removed (e.g., by physical detachment or xe2x80x9cpeelingxe2x80x9d) from the ink transfer sheet. The release layer and receiving layer are left on the fabric substrate so that the printed image is transferred to the fabric substrate. However, although the Boyd, et al. patent discloses removing the backing layer from the fabric substrate, the Boyd, et al. patent does not disclose structure to accomplish this result and therefore does not disclose a solution to the problem of manual removal of the backing layer.
Another ink jet printing apparatus and method for fabric printing are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,231 B1 titled xe2x80x9cInk-Jet Textile Printing Ink And Ink-Jet Printing Process And Instrument Making Use Of The Samexe2x80x9d issued Jul. 3, 2001 in the name of Mariko Suzuki, et al. The Suzuki, et al. patent discloses an ink-jet printing process that includes the steps of applying an ink to a cloth in accordance with an inkjet system, subjecting the cloth to a reactive fixing treatment, and then washing the cloth thus treated to remove unreacted dye. However, the Suzuki, et al. patent does not disclose that the fabric has a backing material and therefore does not disclose a solution to the problem of manually removing the backing material.
Hence, a problem in the art is the practice of manual removal of the backing material from fabric printed by an ink jet printer.
Therefore, what is needed is an ink jet printer system for printing an image on a web overlaying a removable substrate, and method of assembling the printer system, the printer system being capable of removing the substrate from the web.
The present invention generally resides in an ink jet printer system for printing an image on a web overlaying a removable substrate, comprising: a print head for jetting ink onto the web; a feeder mechanism associated with the print head for feeding the web and substrate past the print head; and a first work station associated with the feeder mechanism for removing the substrate.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the ink jet printer system comprises an ink jet print head for jetting ink onto the web to form an image on the web. Coupled to the web is a substrate. A feeder mechanism is coupled to the print head for feeding the web and substrate past the print head during printing. A first roller is aligned with the feeder mechanism and is adapted to engage the substrate for mechanically removing the substrate from the web. A second roller is aligned with the first roller, the second roller being adapted to layer a covering onto the printed image as the first roller removes the substrate from the web. The web with layered covering defines a layered web. The covering is provided to protect the printed image from damage during subsequent handling and to prevent xe2x80x9cbleed throughxe2x80x9d of the image, as discussed presently. In addition, a third roller is aligned with the second roller for supplying the covering to the second roller. Moreover, a steaming core is provided to bundle-up the layered web, so that a steaming roll is defined thereby. A steam generator receives the steaming roll and generates steam for fixing the ink to the layered web. The previously mentioned covering separates successive layers of the web when bundled in the form of the steaming roll. In this manner, ink from the top surface of the web in one layer of the steaming roll will not contact the bottom surface of the web in an adjacent layer of the steaming roll. Further, the covering is removed from the layered web and a washer is preferably disposed to then wash the web for removing unfixed ink from the web. Also, a hot-air blower directs heated air onto the web for drying the web. A take-up reel may also be provided to engage the web and wrap the web thereabout in order to package the web for shipment.
A feature of the present invention is the provision of a first roller aligned with the feeder mechanism and adapted to engage the substrate for mechanically removing the substrate from the web.
An advantage of the present invention is that use thereof decreases total printing time, labor and expense.
Another advantage of the present invention is that use thereof decreases likelihood of damage to the web, which in turn decreases wastage.